JULIO CRUZ, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The Fourth District Court of Appeal granted Julio Cruz's petition for writ of prohibition to prevent trial proceedings until the proper procedure for determining statutory immunity under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law was established. The court ultimately directed that the trial court must hold an evidentiary hearing and determine whether the defendant proved immunity by a preponderance of the evidence, rather than simply denying the motion when factual disputes exist.
When a defendant properly raises immunity under Florida's Stand Your Ground law, the trial court must determine whether the defendant has demonstrated immunity by a preponderance of the evidence through an evidentiary hearing, weighing any factual disputes. The court may not deny the motion simply because factual disputes exist. The burden of proof on the defendant is the preponderance of the evidence standard.
[1] A trial court must determine whether a defendant has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that statutory immunity attaches when such a claim is raised pretrial.
[2] A motion to dismiss based on statutory immunity under the "Stand Your Ground" law may not be denied simply because factual disputes exist.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We now hold that when immunity under this law is properly raised by a defendant, the trial court must decide the matter by confronting and weighing only factual disputes. The court may not deny a motion simply because factual disputes exist.”
Establishes the proper standard for trial courts in handling Stand Your Ground immunity motions, requiring the court to weigh disputed facts rather than deny based on their existence alone.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJulio Cruz was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Cruz filed a motion to dismiss claiming immunity under Florida's Stand Your Groun…
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In September 2009, Julio Cruz (Defendant) filed an emergency petition for writ of prohibition with this court, seeking to prohibit the Broward County circuit court from proceeding to trial until the Florida Supreme Court determines the proper procedure for deciding immunity from prosecution pursuant to section 776.032, Florida Statutes (2009) (the “Stand Your Ground” law, enacted by chapter 2005-27, section 5, at 202, Laws of Florida). We grant the petition.
Defendant, who was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, filed a motion to dismiss based on a claim of immunity under the statute. The state’s traverse denied defendant’s allegations, and, without holding an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the motion, relying on our decision in Velasquez v. State, 9 So.3d 22 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (explaining that trial court had properly denied a similar motion because, under Rule 3.190(c)(4), a motion to dismiss has to be denied when the facts are in dispute).
In Velasquez, we certified conflict with Peterson v. State, 983 So.2d 27 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008), which set forth the following procedure for such motions:
We now hold that when immunity under this law is properly raised by a defendant, the trial court must decide the matter by confronting and weighing only factual disputes. The court may not deny a motion simply because factual disputes exist. Here, the trial court did what was required. Petitioner is not precluded from submitting the matter to the jury as an affirmative defense in his criminal trial.
In the absence of a procedure for handling these matters, we find guidance from the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in People v. Guenther, 740 P.2d 971 (Colo.1987). In that case, the court decided that Colorado’s similar immunity statute authorized a trial court to dismiss a criminal prosecution at the pretrial stage and did not merely create *1069an affirmative defense for adjudication at trial. Id. at 976. The court further determined that a defendant raising the immunity would have the burden of establishing the factual prerequisites to the immunity claim by a preponderance of the evidence. Id. at 980. The court imposed the same burden of proof as it would in motions for postconviction relief or motions to suppress. Id.
Likewise, we hold that a defendant may raise the question of statutory immunity pretrial and, when such a claim is raised, the trial court must determine whether the defendant has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the immunity attaches. As noted by the trial court, courts have imposed a similar burden for motions challenging the voluntariness of a confession. See, e.g., McDole v. State, 283 So.2d 553, 554 (Fla.1973). We reject any suggestion that the procedure established by rule 3.190(c) should control so as to require denial of a motion whenever a material issue of fact appears.
Peterson, 983 So.2d at 29-30.
We held defendant’s petition in abeyance pending the supreme court’s resolution of the issue, which was presented on review of Dennis v. State, 17 So.3d 305 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (affirming conviction on direct appeal), reh’g denied, 17 So.3d 310 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (certifying conflict). In Dennis, we stated, “We find no error in the trial court’s decision to deny the motion to dismiss. As we recognized in Velasquez v. State, 9 So.3d 22 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009), a motion to dismiss based on statutory immunity is properly denied when there are disputed issues of material fact.” 17 So.3d at 306.
The supreme court recently resolved the conflict, rejecting our position in Dennis and approving that of the first district in Peterson. Dennis v. State, 51 So.3d 456 (Fla.2010). Accordingly, we grant the petition and direct the trial court to follow the procedure set forth in Peterson and approved in Dennis.
Petition Granted.
POLEN, TAYLOR and LEVINE, JJ„ concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Pawel Mocio v. State, 98 So. 3d 601 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)…peal of a conviction. Reynolds, 102 So. 2d at 615. In fact, several of our sister courts have entertained petitions for writ of prohibition to review circuit court orders denying motions to dismiss under the Stand Your Ground law. See Cruz v. State, 54 So. 3d 1067 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011); State v. Yaqubie, 51 So. 3d 474 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010); Peterson v. State, 983 So. 2d 27 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008). Accordingly, the circuit court violated a clearly established principle of law in determining that a writ of prohibition w…
Authorities Cited
- McDOLE v. State, 283 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 1973)
- Dennis v. State, 51 So. 3d 456 (Fla. 2010)
- Zack Peterson v. State, 983 So. 2d 27 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)
- Velasquez v. State, 9 So. 3d 22 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- Furney v. State, 17 So. 3d 305 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- Dennis v. State, 17 So. 3d 305 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- Dennis v. State, 17 So. 3d 310 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)